State Department for ICT and the Digital Economy Wins Global Smart Gigacity Award in Vienna

The 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 has won the 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 at the World Broadband Association (WBBA) Broadband Excellence Awards 2026, announced on Wednesday, 14 October 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

Kenya was shortlisted in the category alongside 𝗖𝗧𝗠 and the 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

The award recognizes 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 — Africa’s first AI-operated Giga-City, developed by the Technopolis Development Authority — as a global model for gigabit-enabled urban development.

It was received by Amb. Valerie Rugene, Ambassador and Deputy Head of Mission at the Kenya Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna, on behalf of the Principal Secretary for ICT and the Digital Economy, Eng. John Tanui, CBS, and on behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Kenya.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘁:

A 79-kilometre city-wide fibre backbone connecting businesses, institutions and homes

Public Wi-Fi and smart poles with CCTV and environmental sensors feeding the Intelligent Operations Centre for real-time monitoring and faster response Smart drainage, a wastewater reclamation facility recycling up to 90% of treated water, and an automated underground waste-collection system.

The Konza National Data Centre, providing secure cloud and hosting services to government and local businesses.

The Open University of Kenya, the Kenya Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Riara University, linking research directly to enterprise and innovation.

“Kenya accepts this honour not as the completion of Konza’s journey, but as a call to accelerate it and to share a practical, replicable model with cities across Africa.”

This recognition affirms the leadership of H.E. Dr William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, and the sustained investment in fibre, data centres and digital public infrastructure delivered by the State Department for ICT and the Digital Economy under the Digital Superhighway.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗮’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.